"Oh, not at all," the Negro said with a laugh. [Footnote 1: Nothing appears to us so ridiculous as that conventional jargon Which is placed in the mouth of Negroes; a jargon which, in the first place, impedes the story, and is moreover false; a double reason which urges us not to employ it here--all the worse for the local colouring.--G.A.] "Good! That is settled, then; now, let us go to something else, and, in the first place, take this." The hunter drew a paper from his belt, which he handed to the Black. "What is this?" the latter asked with a timid glance, for his ignorance prevented him deciphering it. "That?" the hunter said with a smile; "it is a precious talisman, which makes of you a man like all the rest of us, and removes you from the animals among which you have been counted up to this day; in a word, it is a deed by which John Davis, native of South Carolina, slave dealer, from this day restores to Quoniam his full and entire liberty, to enjoy it as he thinks proper--or, if you prefer it, it is your deed of liberation written by your former master, and signed by competent witnesses, who will stand by you if necessary." On hearing these words the Negro turned pale after the fashion of men of his colour; that is to say, his face assumed a tinge of dirty gray, his eyes were unnaturally dilated, and for a few seconds he remained motionless, crushed, incapable of uttering a word or making a movement. At length he burst into a loud laugh, leaped up twice or thrice with the suppleness of a wild beast, and then broke suddenly into tears. The hunter attentively watched the Negro's movement, feeling interested to the highest degree in what he saw, and evidencing each moment a greater sympathy with this man. "Then," the Black at length said, "I am free--truly free?" "As free as a man can be," Tranquil replied, with a smile. "Now I can come, go, sleep, work, or rest, and no one can prevent me, and I need not fear the lash?" "Quite so." "I belong to myself, myself alone? I can act and think like other men? I am no longer a beast of burthen, which is loaded and harnessed? I am as good as any other man, white, yellow, or red?" "Quite so," the hunter answered, amused and interested at the same time by these simple questions. "Oh!" the Negro said, as he took his head in his hands, "I am free then--free at last!" He uttered these words with a strange accent, which made the hunter quiver. All at once he fell on his knees, clasped his hands, and raised his eyes to Heaven. "My God!" he exclaimed, with an accent of ineffable happiness. "Thou who canst do all, thou to whom all men are equal, and who dost not regard their colour to protect and defend them. Thou, whose goodness is unbounded like thy power; thanks! Thanks! My God, for having drawn me from slavery, and restored my liberty!"